SIX Things To Know Before Coming To Australia

When you think about Australia, what comes to your mind? Sunny day and beautiful beaches and huge spiders ? Well Australia is much more than just those three things. This blog prepares you before you come to the land down under by telling you top 6 things that should know before coming to Australia.

That Infamous Weather – 4 seasons in ONE DAY

Everywhere you go try and take the weather with you! You might want to bunny hop at the beach when it’s sunny, but if you put your clothes out to line dry be careful because it could start pouring down by the time you get outside. Melbourne weather is highly unpredictable and extremely radical, even the weather app might not be accurate. Temperatures can drop 10 degrees at once, giving way to rainy afternoons despite a sunny morning. The Australian sun is harsh and can burn, so pack extra sunblock and polaroid sunglasses, alongside a hoodie or umbrella, because it may not rain men but it is raining cats and dogs in Melbourne.

Fangs – Magpies, tarantulas – BEWARE and don’t die !

You don’t want to bite any of these things while you’re in Australia – but they might want to bite you! Magpies are known to swoop during the Australian spring, this is why you often see cyclists in Melbourne with drinking straws poking out of their helmets. These help keep the Magpies at bay. Other creepy crawlies you might need to watch out for are snakes and spiders. Red back spiders are famous for hiding in the strangest places – like the toilets at your local camping ground! As for snakes, some of the most deadliest snakes in the world call Australia home. Queensland in particular hosts a variety of poisonous pythons. The Australian coastline is also home to a wide variety of sharks and other sea creatures – but don’t worry, there are some helpful apps and local advicde that can help you decide where to go swimming. Make sure you always swim between the flags at beaches, and only ever swim when life guards are on duty.

P.S. do not swim at dusk otherwise you might end up making a shark buddy and history says they aren’t very nice, well they are on top of the food chain and they respect that.

Slangs – Aussie lingo is English on another level

Well, if you have survived fangs, then slangs and jargons swill be your next challenge. Australia is a country with a huge and diverse community of people. They speak English as a whole, but the the lingo isn’t at all similar to what you would hear over in Britain. Maccas, durrey, crisps, bevs and arvo are just some of the terms which might concern you. Shakespeare could learn a thing or two from Australians. Here’s a quick guide:

Maccas = McDonald’s

Durrie =cigarette,

Bevs/Bevvies = Beverege

Arvo = Afternoon.

Get yourself an Australian slang dictionary cause your Grammar rules aren’t going to work here.

Cha-ching – Australia is one of the most expensive countries in the WORLD !

Does your pocket end right there? Well, in Australia you will have to dig deeper. It is expensive than most of the places on this planet. Especially if you come from an Asian country, common goods are not that expensive, also while haggling would work, they’ve got fixed prices. Whether it is shopping or alcohol, parties or groceries it all costs a good amount of money. Budgeting yourself would really help. However, the positive side of being a student is that Australia is home to a job market which pays great, sustainable starting salaries that only grows exponentially even more so than your skills. So, work visa, bridging visa or student visa – get yourself a part-time or entry-level job, to begin with, and you should be good to go.

Daylight saving

This is an important phenomenon to get that extra sunlight and just an excuse to chill at the beach for longer. To enjoy the sun rays and since the sun sets at 9pm in Summer, Melbourne and Sydney move their clocks one hour ahead. Similarly, in Winter, clocks are rotated and twined an hour backwards to work according to the sun.

Public Transport – One of the best in the WORLD!

Australia is home to a well-connected network of trams, trains and buses. Even if one of the three is not working, there is always a replacement route. You can cover long distances in several ways, giving you more options and while you may have to travel a while to get to some places, you at least will not be stuck. During major festivals and weekends – public transport runs till late and sometimes even all night. Got a housewarming to attend? Got a friend’s birthday party? Got a client meeting? Got an office dinner? You do not have to worry about spending extra dollars in an Uber as long as you plan your Journey with apps likePTVand tram tracker – though you can call an Uber and it will be right outside.

Though beware of the public transport authority as they do random checks – “so please ensure you have touched on your MYKI – doors will open to the left”.

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